From Disobedience To Obedience:. Striving For Allah . Within

Cleverly, Gaines addresses the concerns of change, menace of ignorance and the role of religion in the South during James’s encounter with the preacher and college student in the dentist’s waiting room. Gaines introduces a college student, likewise known as “that boy with that book,” a character foreshadowing the emerging transformation in American society as more people have the opportunity to pursue education (5). Equally important is the preacher. Though his skin color remains conceal, it is infer he is a man of color seeing the office “is where most of the colored people come” (5). In contrast to the student, the preacher represents an earlier generation of Black males that affirms the social norm and exercise religion as a means of peacefully avoiding confrontation. One of the dilemmas facing society is people lack questioning of White authority. Obeying white people is an idea express for an extensive amount of time. In a way, any idea of repulsing suppression is obstruct due to the fear of a developing society. According to the student, everything should be questioned, “every stripe, every star, every words spoken” (5). The student protests against the preacher, “you believe in God because a man told you to believe in God… a white man told you to believe in God... and why… to keep you ignorant so he can keep his feet on your neck” (6). As long as the preacher continues to believe in God, he is indeed a victim to white male suppression. Moreover, the student explains to the preacher, “as long as you listen to what your heart tells

A religious persons' reality sees an otherworldly measurement to life-that there is an extraordinary power past people creatures. Religion has diverse implications to distinctive individuals, it is in light of how a man is influenced by the individuals who raised them. It could have been an ordeal that is traumatic which can push somebody to take after an alternate life as far as religion. The ordinary lives out of every other person on earth are comprised of ceremonies and customs. Christians revere God, who they accept is the inventor of the whole world. Muslims who love Mohammed, in which they accept is a prophet from God, Buddhist have faith in Buddha, and Hindus have confidence in Brahma. This paper will clarify how religious customs depict

Within the Qur’an, the role of women is presented in two opposing views. In places women are looked at as a

Most of the major religions are, by definition, transcendental, and understanding that statement is easy. Transcendental means that something about the belief that is a major tenet of the religion is outside of the natural world. For example, Judaism, Islam and Christianity all hold the belief that there is a single all powerful God. They all may have different beliefs that coincide with this, but that faith is the central belief of these religions. Believing in a God that has no physical manifestation (although Christians would argue that the primary figure in that religion did have a physical presence for a short time) is the essence of being a transcendental religion (Bloch). However, Islam is different in many ways from Judaism and Christianity in its transcendental belief system. Most sects do believe in the power of Allah, but they cling closely to their belief on his prophet also. The Sunni and Shi'ite are distinct for their beliefs in the predominance of different imams, but there is one sect that is completely tied to the transcendental nature of Islam. This essay is about Sufi Islam and why it is the most transcendental of all religious sects.

The word “Sufism” comes from the coarse woolen garment worn by many of these early ascetics. They reject dependence on the things of this world. They want to return to the purity and simplicity of the prophet’s time. They’re known for detachment from the material world, repentance for sins, fear of god and the last judgment and selfless devotion to the fulfillment of God’s will. Despite the official Islamic belief that Muhammad was only a human being and not a miracle worker, his central role as the ideal model of Muslim life had generated stories of the prophet’s extraordinary powers. In Sufism these stories mushroomed and were extended to Sufi saints, the friends or protégés of god, who are said to have had the power to bilocate, cure the sick, multiply food, and read

“In the battle for gender parity, those who stand guard at the gate posts of Muslim status quo have sometimes reacted vehemently against claims for justice.”(xviii) In this quote, Amina Wadud highlights her quest for proving the Qur’an is an ungendered text and discusses types of reactions to her book Qur’an and Women. Wadud’s book, published in 1992, redefines the way the Qur’anic text views women and is the genesis of more scholarly works and discussions on the topic of women. Wadud is the most influential woman scholar of the Qur’an in history. Her purpose is to solely look at the Qur’anic text itself and not the hadith or Islamic traditions that have evolved since it’s revelation. She is clear to state that if the equality between males

The Islamic tradition is a monotheistic Semitic religion that requires Muslims to reflect and cultivate their faith through practicing the Arkan al-Islam - the Five Pillars of Islam. Islam embraces the paradigm of submission to the will of Allah for adherents to understand their place in the universe. The pillars are a foundation for the Muslim faith as evident by Muhammad 's statement of ‘Islam is built upon five [pillars]’ recorded in the Hadith 3. This entails the declaration of faith (Shahadah), the five daily prayers (Salat), almsgiving (Zakat), fasting during the month of Ramadan (Sawm) and the Hajj pilgrimage.

Sufism is the esoteric dimension of Islam which focuses on intensification of Islamic beliefs and practices through mysticism. The ultimate goal of Sufis is to attain mystical union with God through asceticism and love. Rumi was a religious figure whose encounter with love transformed him from an accomplished teacher and scholar into an ascetic. Love is a spiritual experience that can only be known inwardly, through conscience and feelings, but cannot be expressed in words. The book, The Essential Rumi, shows how love is the only way to selflessly experience God. It emphasizes how it is crucial for a person to realize that they are no different from the person they love in order to attain the truth of divine knowledge. The book also shows how Sufism has an identity of its own and is different from traditional Islam.

In her book Sufi Commentaries on the Qur’an in Classical Islam, Kristin Zahra Sands concisely presents the major themes, styles, authors, and issues related to both Sufi and non-Sufi Qur’anic commentaries. She begins her analysis by acknowledging the ambitious endeavor of those academics who have written extensively on the subject before her, adding that she sees the goal of this book to be a further elucidation and examination of these accomplished studies. Since Sufism’s nascent days, the examinations of the Qur’an and reliance on its knowledge have been relevant to Sufi communities and authors, a claim often disputed by classical Europeans Orientalists such as Ignaz Goldziher. In this piece, Sands introduces the relationship between

Section one shall examine the writings of Ibn Taymiyya, a thirteenth-century scholar “who had sought to impose a literal interpretation of the Quran” (Wright, 2007: 183), and the significance of the context in which he wrote. His

Islam is a monotheistic religion taking into account disclosures got by the prophet Muhammad in the seventh century A.D., which were later recorded in the Quran (or Koran), Islam 's consecrated content. Islam has spread quickly during the time and today the religion is, by a few estimations, the biggest on the planet. Devotees of Islam are called Muslims. The Arabic word Islam signifies "accommodation," mirroring the confidence 's focal precept of submitting to Allah. Islamic practices are compressed by the Five Pillars of Islam: confidence, supplication to God, fasting, journey and aid (The Religion of Muhammad, 2015).

Sufi Mysticism has always been criticized by Muslim scholars mainly because they share many things in common with mystics of other religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism among others. Although its origins are not completely from Islam nor does it agree with all of Islam’s doctrines, Sufism has still been widely accepted by the Muslim community (Smith, 2005). The depth of the Sufis beliefs and principles begs to question the different theologies that shaped the formation of this fascinating religion and how it went on to influence the Islamic world and its cultural/artistic derivatives.

The religion of Islam dates back to the 7th century CE and the life of its founder, Muhammad of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. Islam is an Arabic word meaning: making something safe and secure, making something sound and whole, entering into peace and tranquility, and surrendering to something other than oneself. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim. In the religion of Islam, it requires the belief in certain core tenets, which include the articles of faith and the five pillars of worship. These two combined, form the Islamic creed.

The controversial nature of the subject of Sufism becomes evident when one realizes that this short introduction already reveals a viewpoint which the Sufi would strongly disagree with. For, if the Sufi spiritual quest is to be viewed

A prominent element in regards to oral traditions surviving the testament of time is the simplicity, directness, and concision that such traditions tend to be composed of. This makes it appear as though these early simple teaching can have an endless stream of commentary stem from a small assortment of simple words. Certainly such phrases and sayings by highly revered Islamic revolutionists Imam Ali and Jalal al-din Rumi tend to be simple in design much like these oral traditions, but a careful analysis of their work will depict the true depth of their teachings. Through their teachings, these two men are able to clearly show the distinction between spirituality as their lessons greatly depend on the individual recognizing that faith is